1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to side-locking sliding rail assembly technology and more particularly, a side-locking sliding rail assembly having an auto-opening mechanism, which enables the drawer to be temporarily secured in position subject to engagement of a pawl of a locating member with one of a series of sloping teeth if the drawer is not accurately closed, and thus, the user can gently apply a pressure to push the drawer back to the close position avoiding rebound of the auto-opening mechanism carrier plate.
2. Description of the Related Art
When closing a drawer that is carried on two sliding rail assemblies having an auto-opening function, if the drawer is not completely closed, the drawer will be pushed open. Taiwan Utility M396049 discloses a hidden sliding rail assembly having an auto-opening and auto-closing buffering mechanism. According to this design, if the drawer is not completely closed, the locating rod of the swing member will not be positioned in the retaining groove in the auto-opening control member, and the drawer will be pushed open by the spring member. Further, Taiwan Utility M394046 discloses an auto-opening mechanism for sliding rail assembly. According to this design, if the drawer is not completely closed, the locating axle of the rocker arm will not be positioned in the retaining hole of the retaining channel of the sliding device, and the drawer will be pushed open by the spring member.
Further, Taiwan Patent 201531265 discloses a sliding rail design for drawer, entitled “side-locking sliding rail assembly”. According to this design, the guide-in channel of the auto-opening mechanism carrier plate is a curved channel having a plurality of curved sub channels therein and a plurality of grooves spaced between the front inlet and the rear outlet for receiving the locating rod of the locating member to temporarily secure the auto-opening mechanism carrier plate in place. However, this design still has the following minor drawbacks.
After a long use, the locating rod of the locating member can be damaged easily due to a large gap between each two adjacent grooves in the guide-in channel of the auto-opening mechanism carrier plate, such as when the locating rod of the locating member is forced into one of the grooves, and this problem will be more serious if the drawer at the movable rail carries a heavy load, shortening the lifespan.
When the auto-opening mechanism carrier plate slides backward to the end as the user closes the drawer, the locating rod of the locating member can fall downwards and shift its position due to a large dimensional tolerance of the pivot pin of the locating member or insufficient damping oil, causing the locating rod of the locating member to move backward in the original path (the guide-in channel) and leading to an auto-opening functional failure.
During backward movement of the intermediate rail, the rear end of the intermediate rail can strike against the front side of the hook block if the pushing force applied by the user is excessively large, causing the hook block to deflect or to tilt, leading to hook block damage.